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The Suspicious Qatari Role in Post-US Afghanistan

However, the project of reviving and strengthening political Islam in the Middle East and the entire Islamic world is not the task of Qatar alone, but Turkey and Iran are also involved in this very detrimental cancerous scheme. Therefore, every defeat inflicted on the groups of political Islam in the region is considered a loss for Qatar, Turkey, and Iran, and vice versa.
On this basis, when the Muslim Brotherhood lost in Egypt in 2013, Qatar doubled its efforts to support other Muslim Brotherhood groups in Tunisia and Libya. In addition, Qatar has become a hotbed for the Muslim Brotherhood involved in terrorism cases and fugitives from judicial decisions, especially from Egypt.
The Qatari Al-Jazeera channel has also become a fierce defender of the Muslim Brotherhood and its official spokesperson. Qatar has also financed extremist Islamist groups in Syria, such as ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, as indicated by dozens of local and international reports. In recent years, it has also begun to support and finance extremists in EU countries, in cooperation with Erdogan's Turkey.
It is not coincidence that Qatar hosted the negotiations that lasted for years between America and the Afghan Taliban movement, which led to the disgraceful American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Qatar's goal behind those negotiations was to compensate different political Islam groups for part of the losses they incurred in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Tunisia. The very small emirate and very rich in gas hosts the largest US base in the Middle East and is also considered a friend of the Taliban movement, as it hosted the movement's leaders as refugees for years.
What Qatar has done as a broker between US and Taliban goes beyond the limits and dimensions of mediation to reach malicious political agendas. The primary goal is to achieve a ground and moral victory for political Islam in Afghanistan in particular, and the Arab and Islamic world in general. Especially, after the political Islam groups supported by Qatar and Turkey received painful blows and heavy losses in more than one country.
Secondly, transforming Afghanistan into a base that attracts all movements and activists of political Islam in the Islamic world with false identities and under flimsy pretexts, as Afghanistan is deemed a fertile ground for such polarisation. Thus, an additional dose of revitalisation has been given to the political Islam movements in the region and the world, which were living in ruins before the Taliban took power in Kabul. In this context, many international reports indicate that Al-Qaeda and ISIS will re-emerge in Afghanistan, stronger than before.
Turkey, also, wants to play a military role in post-US Afghanistan through the gateway to operating and guarding Kabul Airport. Knowing that Turkey has been active in this country for years in terms of intelligence, with the efforts of its ally Qatar. Likewise, Iran prefers the neighbouring countries, such as Afghanistan, be without an American military presence. Especially since the Taliban represents Sunni political Islam, which agrees with the Shiite political Islam led by Iran more than it disagrees with it. The common denominator between Qatar, Turkey, and Iran, in this respect, is the hostility to the Arab Trinity represented in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.
However, Qatar cannot do all this in Afghanistan without the knowledge, planning and prior approval of US. Indeed, it can be said that Qatar is implementing the American agendas regarding this issue. Since the first day of the Taliban's defeat in 2001, Washington instructed Qatar to receive and embrace the leadership and activists of the Taliban on its soil with the aim of containment in the future. In 2013, Qatar agreed to give the Taliban an official representative office in Doha, at Washington's request, to begin negotiations that led to the ignominious withdrawal from Afghanistan.
It is not only money that empowers Qatar, a small emirate with a population of only 300,000 and more than two million expatriates, to play this systematic subversive role in the region. But, also, the complex and intertwined US-Turkish-Iranian authorisation, each in a different direction and in a dissimilar context.
by: Jwan Dibo

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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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